THINGS TO DO IN NASHVILLE IN APRIL
Spring is always packed full of music and food festivals, the start of baseball season, and so much more! Here is just a sampling of events taking place this month in Music City during Awesome April!
FESTIVALS
Tuesday, April 3 – Saturday, April 7
Nashville Fashion Week is a celebration of the city’s thriving fashion and retail scene featuring local, regional, and national designers alongside industry professionals in an array of creative events throughout the week. Ticket proceeds to the runway shows and other events benefit the Fashion Forward Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Each year, NFW gives an annual award to a lucky recipient for professional development in a fashion-related field. Maria Silver, 2018’s recipient, is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York with a background in women’s contemporary clothing and costume design. Her fashion line, Black by Maria Silver, has been featured in Nylon, Bust, Refinery 29, Elle, and others and she opened her first storefront on Woodland Street in East Nashville in 2017.
Tuesday, April 3 – Saturday, April 7
Each year hundreds of songwriters and thousands of fans flock to Nashville for the world’s largest all-songwriter festival. This year, 11 venues around Music City host more than 400 songwriters as they tell the stories behind hit songs and perform the songs as they were originally composed.
Follow along with our TIN PAN SOUTH coverage for festival highlights!
Thursday, April 5
The Preds Wine Festival & Tasting, hosted by the Nashville Predators Foundation, features more than 225 higher-end wines, beers, and spirits along with an extensive silent auction. For an exclusive tasting experience, VIP tickets can be purchased and include a five-course dinner paired with hand-crafted wines in the Patron Platinum Club.
Saturday, April 7
3 Crow Bar hosts the 8th Annual East Nashville Beer Fest with lots of craft beer, food trucks and live music curated by Mike Grimes. This year the festival expands their offering of Belgian, German and import beers thanks to Woodland Wine Merchant. Festival organizers encourage attendees to rideshare to the festival with special Lyft codes in order to help relieve parking along with keeping the roads safe.
Saturday, April 7
Edgehill Rocks is an outdoor music and food celebration in historic Edgehill on Villa Place near Music Row. The event benefits the Organized Neighbors of Edgehill (ONE), a not-for-profit group working for more than 45 years to assist the diverse people of the Edgehill neighborhood. The 2018 festival features entertainment by Great Peacock, The Melting Pot Band, The Beltones, Swing Dance Nashville, Carly Rogers, School of Rock Franklin/Nashville, and more.
Saturday, April 14
Celebrating the spring and Japanese culture, the Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival is a family-friendly event that includes Japanese music and dance, cultural lectures and exhibits, a roving Japanese “Candyman,” martial arts demonstrations, arts and crafts, anime merchandise, a Cosplay contest, and the Cherry Blossom Walk. Some of Nashville’s favorite food trucks will offer up special menus with a variety of Japanese cuisines. Proceeds will benefit the Japan-America Society of Tennessee’s 10-year mission to plant 100 Japanese cherry trees each spring in Nashville parks and neighborhoods.
Saturday, April 14
The Nashville Wine and Food Festival promotes Nashville’s nationally recognized local cuisine and music. The 5th annual festival will feature more than 150 wines from over 30 of the country’s premier wineries, paired with delicious bites from Nashville’s top restaurants. Highlights include a beer garden, cocktail lounge, and live music from local bands.
Sunday, April 15
Each year the Downtown Home Tour gives an exclusive look at a variety of properties within downtown Nashville, showcasing spaces in historic and rehabbed buildings along with homes in brand new buildings. This is the perfect event for someone interested in unique, livable, downtown living spaces and those that love exploring new decor ideas.
Are you a Nashville Local? Plan your Staycation with our SPRING BREAK PAGE!
SPORTS + OUTDOORS
Saturday, April 7
There is only one regular season home game left in Nashville, but there is playoff hockey in our future! The Nashville Predators not only clinched the first spot in the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, they also won home-ice advantage for the duration of their playoff run.
View the updated schedule as playoff announcements are made!
The Nashville Sounds play their 41st season in franchise history and 4th as the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. The games offer a family-friendly atmosphere for fans of all ages to come and enjoy good company, good food, and a good game.
Nashville Sounds vs. Iowa Cubs
April 10-12
Nashville Sounds vs. Omaha Storm Chasers
April 13-16
Nashville Sounds vs. New Orleans Baby Cakes
April 25-29
Friday, April 27 & Saturday, April 28
Highlights of the 2018 Whip Crackin’ Rodeo include saddle riding, a silent auction, and festival foods like corn-on-the-cob, hotdogs, and pizza. On Friday, the rodeo will include a mini-rodeo event for special needs children filled with fun, games, and a small sample of the rodeo. In 2017, the rodeo raised over $40,000 for local charities, with over $350,000 being raised in just eight years.
Saturday, April 28
The Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon and 1/2 Marathon is one of Nashville’s largest block parties. First, runners start in front of Lower Broadway’s honky tonks and wind through downtown passing spots such as the Country Music Hall of Fame and First Tennessee Park. Then, runners continue through some of Nashville’s trendiest neighborhoods before ending at Nissan Stadium. In true Music City fashion, there is live music infused throughout the course with Hunter Hayes as this year’s headliner at Ascend Amphitheater.
Looking for even more fun things to do during Awesome April?
ARTS + STAGE
Now through June 24
Artist Nick Cave‘s exhibit Feat. explores issues of identity and social justice, containing works that speak to issues of identity, racial equity, and social justice. Ten of Cave’s trademark soundsuits are on display in one of the galleries. The human-shaped sculptural forms, made of common found and re-purposed material, were initially an artistic response to the 1991 Los Angeles police beating of Rodney King.
The title Feat. refers to the hard work that goes into attaining success. It also refers to the term of highlighting the people and issues of Nashville by way of artistic performance.
Friday, April 6
On April 6, Cave is directing two free, large-scale performances with customized compositions that combine genres. Cave is collaborating with local choreographers, dancers, musicians, students, and leaders to explore themes of identity, social justice, and the power of art. The matinee and evening performances of Feat. Nashville are sold out, however both will be live streamed and can be viewed in the Frist Auditorium or online at FristArtMuseum.org or Facebook.com/FristArtMuseum.
Now through April 22
“Are people born Wicked? Or do they have Wickedness thrust upon them?”
The Broadway sensation, Wicked, is back again in Music City for an extended run at TPAC. The show looks at a different perspective of what happened before and after Dorothy arrived in Oz. The touring cast of Wicked features Brentwood born-and-raised Ginna Claire Mason as Glinda, Mary Kate Morrissey as Elphaba, and Jon Robert Hall as Fiyero.
Now through May 28
The Violins of Hope collection is made up of restored violins that were played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust. The instruments survived unbelievable circumstances to tell stories of injustice, suffering, resilience, survival – and hope. The collection was brought to Nashville by the Nashville Symphony to facilitate a citywide dialogue about music, art, social justice, and free expression. The instruments are on display in the Art Gallery at the Downtown Nashville Public Library everyday until April 9 and then will be back on display again starting April 15.
In addition to the display at NPL, local groups and organizations are hosting events to help drive the creation of music, visual art, theater with public conversation, interfaith dialogue, readings, and educational activities throughout the city.
Now through June 30
The Rolling Stones exhibit honors the 54-year-old rock band featuring instruments, wardrobe pieces, and other items from the band’s legendary career. More than 500 artifacts and memorabilia like personal diaries, recordings, and unseen videos and photos from the band will be on display at the museum, which is located in the Municipal Auditorium in Downtown Nashville.
